Daytona Beach authorities are facing questions after a man accused of a brutal attack on a teenager was found to have been involved in an earlier violent incident on the same day. Jermaine Long, the man charged with slashing a 13-year-old's throat outside the Slingshot ride, had been confronted by police hours earlier for allegedly attacking a man with a sledgehammer.
Earlier in the day, the Daytona Beach Police Department had issued Long a trespass warning after an incident at a 7-Eleven where he reportedly chased someone and struck them with a sledgehammer. As per ClickOrlando, Long was not arrested but trespassed in the area. However, he was later taken into custody after the attack on the teenager, which required the victim to receive 13 stitches. A millimeter difference, and the injury could have been life-threatening.
Bearing a history of criminal activities, Long is a registered sex offender with previous charges involving drugs and battery. The most recent incident has sparked further scrutiny over the decision to release Long back into the community following his earlier offenses. "I don’t know why he was walking around," Jerod Clarke, the father of the injured teenager, told ClickOrlando.
In Volusia County, Long is currently being held without bond at the Volusia County Branch Jail, having pleaded not guilty in both the sledgehammer and slashing cases. With major events like Bike Week on the horizon, locally, Daytona Beach police have announced plans to increase their presence around the Boardwalk area and open a new satellite office in a nearby hotel to enhance safety. This announcement follows the heightened concern after the violent attacks linked to Long, WESH reported.
